Runaway: A Road Adventure
Encyclopedia
Runaway: A Road Adventure is a point and click adventure game
developed by Péndulo Studios, S.L.
in 2001. The game follows the long tradition of two-dimensional adventure games like the first two installments of the Broken Sword
series. It enjoyed immense popularity in countries like Germany
and France
, where the adventure genre is still popular.
The original
Spanish
version of the game was the first to become available in Spain
on July 6, 2001, with other localizations waiting up to two years for their publication, including the German
version in fall
2002 and the rest during 2003. It was released in the United Kingdom
in May 2004. The original publisher was Dinamic Multimedia
and it was their last distributed title before their closure. After that, the distributor has been FX Interactive.
Runaway has been released on CD-ROM
and DVD-ROM.
A sequel
: Runaway 2: The Dream of The Turtle
was released in November 2006 in France and Germany and was released in March 2007 in the United Kingdom, USA and Spain. A third game, Runaway 3: A Twist of Fate
was released on November 26, 2009.
to California
, but plans to make a quick stop on his way there to pick up a book at a bookstore. On the way there, he just avoids running over a fleeing girl who then blacks out. Brian takes her to the hospital and finds out that her name is Gina Timmins and that she witnessed a Mafia
murder. He saves her from the killers, but now he also has to run away.
. He is portrayed as a shy, almost nerdy, young man at first.
Gina Timmins is the girl Brian almost ran over with his car and immediately fell in love with. She works as a dancer in a New York City
nightclub, where she is handed a mysterious crucifix and shortly thereafter witnesses a murder.
Gustav and Feodor are two hitmen working for the Mafia. Gustav, who wears an eyepatch, is seen as the head of the team, while Feodor is prone to rash acts of brutality. They are sent after Gina at first and Brian as well later on.
In addition to the game itself, the edition includes a CD with the soundtrack, as well as a DVD with a 25-minute TV report including interviews with the creators, several previews and a sample of sketches, storyboards, character designs, backgrounds, etc.
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
developed by Péndulo Studios, S.L.
Péndulo Studios, S.L.
Péndulo Studios is a video game company founded in Madrid by Rafael Latiegui, Ramón Hernaez and Felipe Gomez Pinilla. The company became famous in 2001 for the game Runaway: A Road Adventure.- Releases :* 2012 - Yesterday...
in 2001. The game follows the long tradition of two-dimensional adventure games like the first two installments of the Broken Sword
Broken Sword
Broken Sword is a video game series created by game designer Charles Cecil of Revolution Software. The game series revolves around the adventures of Idaho-born George Stobbart and the French Nico Collard in several fictitious stories based on history and mythology. The first two games in the series...
series. It enjoyed immense popularity in countries like Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where the adventure genre is still popular.
The original
Originality
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works by as being new or novel, and thus can be distinguished from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or derivative works....
Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version of the game was the first to become available in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on July 6, 2001, with other localizations waiting up to two years for their publication, including the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
version in fall
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
2002 and the rest during 2003. It was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in May 2004. The original publisher was Dinamic Multimedia
Dinamic Multimedia
Dinamic Multimedia was a Spanish software house and publisher created in 1993 which was created after the bankruptcy of Dinamic Software in 1992 by some of its former members. After having released several titles, they filed for bankruptcy in September 2001....
and it was their last distributed title before their closure. After that, the distributor has been FX Interactive.
Runaway has been released on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and DVD-ROM.
A sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
: Runaway 2: The Dream of The Turtle
Runaway 2: The Dream of The Turtle
Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle is a point and click adventure game released by Péndulo Studios, S.L. in 2006. It's a sequel to Runaway: A Road Adventure....
was released in November 2006 in France and Germany and was released in March 2007 in the United Kingdom, USA and Spain. A third game, Runaway 3: A Twist of Fate
Runaway 3: A Twist of Fate
Runaway: A Twist of Fate is a point-and-click graphical adventure. It is a game developed by Péndulo Studios, S.L. and the sequel of Runaway 2: The Dream of The Turtle, as well as the third and final chapter in the Runaway series....
was released on November 26, 2009.
Story
Brian Basco sets off from New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but plans to make a quick stop on his way there to pick up a book at a bookstore. On the way there, he just avoids running over a fleeing girl who then blacks out. Brian takes her to the hospital and finds out that her name is Gina Timmins and that she witnessed a Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
murder. He saves her from the killers, but now he also has to run away.
Characters
Brian Basco, the only player-controlled character, is a student of Physics who just got accepted to the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He is portrayed as a shy, almost nerdy, young man at first.
Gina Timmins is the girl Brian almost ran over with his car and immediately fell in love with. She works as a dancer in a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
nightclub, where she is handed a mysterious crucifix and shortly thereafter witnesses a murder.
Gustav and Feodor are two hitmen working for the Mafia. Gustav, who wears an eyepatch, is seen as the head of the team, while Feodor is prone to rash acts of brutality. They are sent after Gina at first and Brian as well later on.
Technology
According to the developer, the game was developed using a mixture of external and internal produced tools to achieve the combined 2D and 3D graphical look of the game. Internally, the game engine utilised three dimensions to model the characters and objects, but then a special filter was used to render them two-dimensionally to the screen. This gives the effect of making it look like a traditional cartoon-like 2D adventure, while enabling real-time lighting and shading effects, camera changes, and panoramic shots.Soundtrack
The original soundtrack for Road Adventure contains all four songs from game, the CD is included in the special collectors' edition. All the songs are composed by David García Morales and performed by singer Liquor.Collector Edition
The special collectors' edition was published by Microsoft.In addition to the game itself, the edition includes a CD with the soundtrack, as well as a DVD with a 25-minute TV report including interviews with the creators, several previews and a sample of sketches, storyboards, character designs, backgrounds, etc.